Today was spent road tripping with my host Michael. He took the day off of work and volunteered the idea of driving down to New Orleans to scout out possible routes and camping locations that I might use to get to the Gulf of Mexico. He said he didn’t mind doing the drive as his favorite place to paddle (the Pearl river) is in the area, in addition he hadn’t seen much of the area since Hurricane Katrina so he was curious to see how it looks.

I must say that Michael is another one of those amazing people without whom I’m not sure how this trip would have gone. He not only picked me up off the river on one of the coldest days yet. He’s given me a place to stay for a week and has kept me fed at the same time. As I write I’m looking at the Ikkuma which we’ve put up on chairs in his dining room so I can take care of some of the wear and tear that the last 1000 miles have put on it. Michael is an avid kayaker and an all round great guy, I’m not sure I’ll ever be able to thank him enough for the help he’s given me.

Warming up the Ikkuma in Michael's dining room

We did a big loop south out of Baton Rouge to the Bonnet Carre Spillway to scout a possible back route into Lake Pontchartrain along the back side of New Orleans and on into the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway. The spillway is used to divert flood water from the Mississippi to the lake to ease the pressure on the levies further down stream. The structure leaks so there is always a trickle of water flowing from the river to the lake. It could work as an alternative route but right now would involve a bit of a portage and more than a bit of finding my way through a maze of dead end sloughs and channels.

Tree trunk in Lake Pontchartrain

From the flood control structure we drove along the spillway to the lake just to take a look. Then it was back up to the highway and on to Bayou Sauvage to see if I could use it as a short cut to come out of the Intercoastal to find dry land along the lake to camp, however it didn’t look promising. From there we continued down Highway 90 and came to a town called Venetian Isles and the ruins of Fort Macomb which is some of the first high land along the intercoastal and uncomfortably close to the end of my range for one day of flat water paddling. We did find a couple less than ideal but promising spots to pitch a tent so it was a relief.

From the Venetian Isles we drove further on finally through Michael’s reason for getting into kayaking, the Pearl River Basin, and into Mississippi to check out a piece of property a friend of his owns on a bleak hurricane ravaged manmade dry spot where I could pitch a tent if needed.

On the way back home we passed back over the Pearl river and as I looked down from the highway above I could see why Michael likes it. Even on a dark rainy January day Pearl river is very beautiful with stands of cypress trees dripping with Spanish moss and an endless maze of river channels to explore by boat. I only wish the weather had been warmer because we might have paddled a section of the Pearl together while we were down there. Some other day for sure.

- - - - -

It’s a good thing I don’t make my living as a reporter. After reviewing my pictures from today I realized that I somehow managed to spend an entire day sight seeing through one of the areas hardest hit by Hurricane Katrina and I didn’t get one shot of anything resembling storm damage. It was there though, and I guess by now we’ve all seen those disturbing images of ghostly storm damaged buildings left abandoned and rotting, or rows and rows of completely empty lots where homes once stood. Michael, my host here in Baton Rouge, did point out something that you probably haven’t seen on the news which is almost more disturbing than the empty houses. It’s the new houses and how they’re being built (as if nothing ever happened) slab on grade right on the ground that during the floods was several feet under water. The lesson has not been learned. They’re just building the same way in the same place and praying they get (taxpayer subsidized) flood insurance to fix it all again the next time.

Michael works for the Louisiana state government in a department in charge of trying to slow the subsidence (loss) of coastal land. That land is (actually was) the outer barrier that surrounded the New Orleans area protecting it from storms in the Gulf of Mexico. With the loss of so much of that protective land New Orleans is becoming increasingly vulnerable to hurricanes. Michael volunteers as an emergency relief worker for the American Red Cross. During Katrina he was in charge of a storm relief center that housed over 2000 people here in Baton Rouge. He said that when he stood on the stage of the auditorium where the people were housed and looked out over all those folks he couldn’t help but think just how lucky they were. Despite all the attention New Orleans got by the press after Katrina, people forget that it didn’t get hit by the most powerful part of the storm, which was further east. The major damage to New Orleans happened when the levy that surrounds the city failed allowing the topographic bowl in which the new part of town rests to fill with water. So why were all those folks who lost their homes and belongings…lucky?

Because if the main part of the storm had hit there…they’d probably be dead. The large hurricane named Camille that hit this coast in 1969 (I believe the one featured in Forest Gump) brought with it a record setting and astonishing tidal surge around 23 feet. Remember a tidal surge is not a tidal wave that comes in as one big wave then retreats. Essentially a tidal surge is a bulge of water pushed in by the storm that moves in and stays for a while. On top of that surge you still have the chaos of the wind driven normal waves you’d expect in any storm. Just a few miles east of New Orleans the storm surge that accompanied the winds of Katrina was 27 feet deep. That was a surge of water that would have easily topped the levy surrounding New Orleans and filled the (lower than sea level) town well above the roof tops. Those people in the emergency shelter that Michael was helping were the ones that chose not to, or just couldn’t, evacuate before the storm. If the surge had hit New Orleans dead on they would have first moved from the first floor of their house to the second. Then as the surge water continued to rise they would have moved into the attic. The prepared ones would have then used their emergency ax to chop through the roof to take refuge up there. The problem was that from there they would have eventually been swept away in an additional five feet or more of water.

It’s with this knowledge… or without it… or ignoring it… or trusting that the levy that already failed won’t again, that people are choosing to re-build the same old way in New Orleans. It’s not that I think they shouldn’t move back to their town and start again. But how bout learning the lesson and rebuilding in a way that can help you and your home survive the next one that is ever more likely to come as the protective coast line slowly disappears.

He let you put your boat in the diningroom? On diningroom chairs? Boy, he's a lot nicer to you than your mother was... She made you put your boat in the garage! OK, so your mother did move her car out and parked it outside in the cold cold December so you could work on your boat - just didn't let you use the diningroom!

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Lynn

1/8/2010 09:39:02 am

Umm...great reporting....Not talking about the pictures..but the writing..you give a great snapshot - no pun intended-- of what is happening in the areas. Thanks a huge bunch for the insights. Glad you are being cared for!!!!

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Luke Stachovak

1/8/2010 11:49:06 am

What do you mean Mom? It wasn't even cold yet in December! :) Glad that you are able to get some R&R as well as some scouting done. Remember, if you get confused I gave you a note on your kayak! Take care,

A great reporter is one who paints pictures with words, and your pictures are very descriptive. Keep up the great reporting! You're taking us all along on a great journey!

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Jan Kleck

1/8/2010 06:05:00 pm

I'm not confused. I've heard about those brothers! Mom has her hands full! You have been too discrete Jake! Always saying such positive things about them!

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Mark in Oxford

1/8/2010 10:45:42 pm

Jake, I know the weather there may have you pining for the Gulf coast of Florida, but my brother in Port Charlotte is shopping for a woodburning stove and the reports are mentioning wind chill. Wind chill factors in Florida! They have had a cold front coming through for the last week which is predicted to extend into next week as well. You may want to hunker down until this passes through.

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Steven Krause

1/8/2010 10:58:45 pm

I presume Michael has no wife or mother in residence, or there would be no kayak in the dining room. As for the rebuilding of houses in flooded areas, that's how it is always done. People always rebuild in areas that keep getting flooded. And on faultlines that keep getting earthquakes. On at the bases of volcanoes that keep erupting. And on ocean beaches that keep getting swept by hurricanes. Like it can't possibly happen again. Jake, you're doing a good job of reporting your expedition. I expect you to get a book contract (or at least try) and write up the trek after you complete it.

Jake's definitely been unlucky in that he's chosen to make this journey during the coldest winter to hit the South in a long time. Here at Memphis we've been below 20 degrees for some 30 hours now, and our harbor is largely frozen over, making paddling a challenge. The forecast here calls for much warmer temperatures (mid 40s) next week. Whether this is our last Arctic blast for the year remains to be seen.

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Greg Cade

1/8/2010 11:25:06 pm

Michael seems like a very practical man. Hardwood floors in the dining room mean easy cleanup of epoxy spills.

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Andy

1/8/2010 11:52:01 pm

Now I'm confused. I just turned on your "Spot" and it said you are still in Baton Rouge. Are you waiting for the Packer game? That's not on until Sunday. Hey, if you wait long enough, you might be able to catch the Pack down in New Orleans. I know, I'm jumping ahead and better stop yapping about football before I jinx everything.

Jake,Keep up the great reporting! I like to learn about the things you are seeing and after your bit of bad luck it helps to know you are OK. (meaning, I'm not so disturbed by hearing about bad things happening as I would be by not hearing anything at all.)

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dan

1/9/2010 01:35:01 am

Jakeone of your favorite cousins9u told me)enjoying every detail you are recording. The ocean is going to be another adventure all together. (dolphins have the righ of way).

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dan

1/9/2010 01:36:45 am

(right of way)

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Michelle Arwood

1/9/2010 11:03:15 am

My mom, your aunt Barbara, told me of your journey and I've been reading up on your travels and I'm amazed by your courage and conviction. You not only have the spirit required to endure the physical demands, but you are also a gifted writer!

Your long lost cousin (the only one outside WI I belive) - Michelle

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lyn stachovak

1/9/2010 04:21:36 pm

Michelle - where does Vicki live? Is't it Michigan? That's outsice Wisconsin too isn't it? Just had to me a smarty. Hi there. Good to know you're watching Jake too. Keep in touch!

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lyn stachovak

1/9/2010 09:32:41 pm

Oops forgot Andy. How could I forget Andy? Minnesota isn't Wisconsin anymore either. That makes 3 cousins outside Wisconsin. Three out of how many? Wisconsin wins.